[Beanie]

Watched just about every shot of the Scottish Open and the John Deere so let's see what pointers there were there:

The Market Leaders:

Mickelson - was steady all week until the 4th round - missed fairway after fairway, and his club selection(driver off the 18th twice) was questionable at best. When Havret put the pressure on it was the experienced Mickelson that looked like he lost the plot a bit, and on a more testing course this week with a higher quality field, I don't think the post wrist injury Mickelson has the confidence to compete, altho he might well have the game to get him there.

Els - Rollercoaster week for Ernie - putting strings of bogies together as easily as he did the eagles and birdies. His final round charge was spectacular though - and possibly of most interest was his accuracy with the driver - his huge whacks on 13(green on par 5 in 2) and 14(green on par 4 in 1) were the shots of the week, and if he can carry that accuracy into the Open then he has a huge advantage over some of the other more accurate players who will be hitting the ball 30-40 yards further back...seems happy with his game and one to consider.

Woods - without doubt a contender, could never count him out, but at that price he doesn't look an interesting prospect from a betting perspective. 3 Opens can't be argued with, but they were all on courses that lend themselves to low scoring - and Carnoustie certainly doesn't. Who knows, maybe the recent birth of his child will see him swinging care free and happy, but even then I think steely determination might be the order of the day this week and I at that price I'm not touching the Tiger.

Furyk - more of a back than a lay certainly - has been in sparkling form back in the US - question is whether or not he can adapt well to the demands on the links in a short space of time. His 4th in the Open last would suggest so, and he's consistent enough to keep himself together in even the toughest conditions. Very likely to be in touch after the first couple of rounds and some sort of top 10 bet might be a handy option here.

Harrington - Out of form in both recent opens and on the US Tour, and barring a huge turnaround won't get a look in here. A third consecutive british open missed cut perhaps?

Justin Rose - Hmmm - not much to go on with old Justin. Certainly playing well but has had time off this year after some good results in the US, and that could make the adjustment to Carnoustie a little harsh. Being placed in Woods group also means no place to hide if he gets off to a bad start, and so I'll probably give him a miss this week.

Vijay - Not the man for this week - missed the cut at Hoylake last year as well as at Carnoustie in '99, and if the wind gets up and he starts playing around in the sand, he's not gonna fancy this one and another missed cut is a possibility.

Donald - Special final round at Loch Lomond - and if he carries that into this week has to be a serious contender. Superbly accurate off the tees and a decent golfing brain, he could really tame the course, and has shown the necessary mentality to suggest he could close this out if in the mix duringg round 4.

Garcia - would have been in contention at the Scottish Open if it wasn't for some hopeless putting - numerous misses from 5ft or less and while his game is still generally strong, his confidence looks to be MIA, which isn't ideal for Carnoustie. If he is worrying about what's gonna happen on the greens, he might even collapse on the way to them.

Casey - Slight injury layoff means not ideal preparation for this one - and while he has shown links ability in the past, his occasional lack of accuray off the tee suggests it miht be too much to expect him to come straight back and start hitting it as sweetly as he'll need to.

Some outsider considerations to follow...